Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Boosts Holdings in Aon plc $AON

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its stake in shares of Aon plc (NYSE:AON) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in AON were worth $18,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AON by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in AON by 5.3% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 549,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after buying an additional 27,530 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AON by 42.7% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of AON in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,671,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in AON by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 7,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.14% of the company’s stock.

AON Stock Performance

NYSE:AON opened at $324.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Aon plc has a fifty-two week low of $304.59 and a fifty-two week high of $412.97. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $342.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.95. The stock has a market cap of $69.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.83.

AON (NYSE:AON) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.75 by $0.10. AON had a net margin of 21.51% and a return on equity of 45.23%. The company had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Aon plc will post 17.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AON Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.745 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 2nd. This represents a $2.98 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. AON’s payout ratio is currently 17.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lester B. Knight bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $319.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,276,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 143,000 shares in the company, valued at $45,651,320. This trade represents a 2.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Darren Zeidel sold 5,040 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.79, for a total value of $1,641,981.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 20,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,598,550.66. This represents a 19.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AON shares. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of AON from $419.00 to $416.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $395.00 price objective on AON in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $436.00 target price on shares of AON in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on AON from $433.00 to $406.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $408.00 price objective on shares of AON in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AON presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $409.75.

About AON

Aon plc is a global professional services firm that provides a broad suite of risk, retirement and health solutions to corporations, institutions and individuals. The company operates primarily as an insurance broker and risk adviser, helping clients identify, quantify and transfer risk across property, casualty, cyber and other areas. Aon also offers reinsurance brokerage and capital market solutions that connect insurers, reinsurers and corporate buyers.

In addition to traditional brokerage activities, Aon delivers consulting and outsourcing services in areas such as human capital, benefits, and retirement plan design and administration.